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A book by a first-time author.

A debut!! I love debuts!!! It's an unknown quantity, a happy discovery (or an abject failure) - one never knows!!!! I've been eyeing Lessons in Chemistry and Nightcrawling all year, so this is a good reason to read one of them.


Listopia list is Here: A book by a first time author

Is this the same as a debut book? Is this supposed to be for author's who have only published one book? Or is this the first book of any author no matter how famous?

For some reason, when I read this prompt my brain added published in 2023 to it, so I was like that might be tough to find. I guess it's not and, as worded, could be any first book of an author. However, I feel like the spirit is about discovering someone new, so I'm going to try to read a debut from the last few years, where the author has only one book so far (or if I can't find that, at least I haven't read anything by them).

I am looking at this debut, coming out next year: That Self-Same Metal. The author's had short stories in anthologies, but this is her first novel.

Dubhease wrote: "Is this the same as a debut book? Is this supposed to be for author's who have only published one book? Or is this the first book of any author no matter how famous?"


I'm reading it as "a debut book." I assume they wrote it the way they did because sometimes an author may publish non-fiction or short stories, and then when they publish a novel it's called their "debut" but it's not their first book, and that gets confusing. So this way, it's an author's first book. Period.

This begs the question, why isn't the category just "An author's first book"??? who knows!!!

Yeah, I'm thinking it's to cover people like journalists or musicians who write all the time but don't put out books....??

I'm aiming for an author who only has one book published, but I think the way it reads the first book written by an author (even someone as prolific as Stephen King etc) would count.

My first cross planned book! ATY also has a prompt for an author's debut book.

Right now I am considering:
Remarkably Bright Creatures
The Kitchen House
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

I am thinking
The Verifiers
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons

This is definitely a nice spot for a new 2023 author. I've pre-ordered Weyward and Godkiller thanks to fancy special editions tempting me, so maybe one of them.

I am thinking of reading Solitaire, it's Alice Oseman's debut novel.

I have Reign & Ruin by JD Evans slotted into the ATY #8 prompt "an author's debut book" and will use it for this prompt also! It was the winner of the 2020 (7th) Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) so it is also an indie/self published?? book which is a plus for me :)

Bea wrote: "My first cross planned book! ATY also has a prompt for an author's debut book.

Right now I am considering:
Remarkably Bright Creatures
The Kitchen House
[book:The Pe..."

Thanks for the reminder! The different wording meant it didn't cue my brain to recognize the crossover.

I think If I Survive You sounds great, I'm going to read that one.

Because of how it was worded I wanted to look for a new author on their first book, I found A Flicker in the Dark and decided to go with that because while she did complete a second book, I hasn’t released yet so if I finish it before mid January it’d count for my self-imposed restrictions 😅

I'm going to read Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze.

For this one, I'm going to wait until I find books in 2023 in the nonfiction section of bookstores. Usually, most NF writers are first-time author's so I'm looking forward to the wait.

I'll be reading The Trouble with Hating You. Whilst not the case any more, this book was the author's debut.

I am pretty sure Nita Prose is a first-time author so Im going to read The Maid. My mum enjoyed it and recommended it to me.

Long Past Summer
After We Were Stolen
The Lives of Diamond Bessie
Someday, Maybe
The Resemblance

Oh, here's where I could fit A Magic Steeped in Poison! I knew there had to be something.

M! OMG thank you for that! �� I was close to tears because I've been dying to read Magic Steeped in Poison and I couldn't fit it into any category when I first looked at the List! Thank you thank you thank you!!

It looks like Epic Reads did a list of 15 debut authors back in 2022:

There may be something good there.

Would it be okay to stretch this a bit? I'm thinking of author's first-time books even though they wrote stuff after.

I'm planning to pick one of these...re-reads for me. Unless a 2023 debut novel catches my eye.

I have to read Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley in January, because I'm a judge in a reading quiz bowl in mid-February.

Thank goodness it will fit here! I have four books still to read in January and February��

As a bonus, Boulley is indigenous:
"Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She gained attention from the We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program. Angeline was the former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education."

I'm going with this one to continue my Indigenous theme. Even though the author did a photography book prior to this, it was with multiple authors. This was his first individual novel. I couldn't find the first edition (except maybe on ebay), I got the updated edition but still same concept.

Playing Indian / Playing Indian

Does the debut book have to be first published in 2023? Would a debut book in 2022 qualify?

This is the book I'm going with for the first book by an author.
The Lobster's Guide to Herding Penguins: A Practical Guide to Gaining Perspective and Living the Stories Worth Telling

Christopher AC Wiley PhD

Ryan wrote: "Does the debut book have to be first published in 2023? Would a debut book in 2022 qualify?"

It just says first time author so any debut would work.

I ended up reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie's first book.

Black Cake !!!!!!!!

I just read this one which would work:
Split Tooth is an award-winning debut read by Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq. It tells the story of a girl growing up in Nunavut in the 1970s, a gritty, harsh but beautiful tale that blends fiction, memoir magical realism and mythology. The audiobook has excerpts of her unique singing. Here is my review

I'll probably go with How to Make Friends in the Dark since this was her debut novel.

I am reading A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa.

I read Mrs March by Virginia Feito.

There were parts of this book I liked - the rather Mrs Dalloway like beginning, and it was a well-drawn psychological portrait. I would read more by this author, as she writes well, but I didn't enjoy this particular topic.

As much as I hated it, I’m going with Spare by Prince Harry.

I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I very much enjoyed this book & recommend it highly. It is a very easy read as it is written in letter form between the characters instead of chapters. I very much liked that!! I gave this book 4 stars!!

I read From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

Rachel wrote: "I just read this one which would work:
Split Tooth is an award-winning debut read by Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq. It tells the ..."

This book is intense. If you listen to the audiobook, there is also throat-singing (I see from your review, Rachel, that you also listened to the audiobook).

I wound up reading Tiffany D Jackson's first novel, Allegedly. For the most part I liked it...right up until the end. The last chapter didn't ruin the book, but it definitely soured my experience with the story.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Australian author Holly Ringland is the beautiful lyrical story of a girl who grows up with hardship and loss and learns how to express herself using the language of flowers on her grandmother's wildflower farm. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

Finished The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

My Review:
/review/show...

The Flatshare is a fun rom-com by English author
Beth O'Leary. Quirky Londoner Tiffy is desperate to find a new flat and lovable palliative care nurse Leon offers her an affordable solution when he rents out his flat and bed to her to use while he’s working nightshift. Their friendship grows gradually through a series of post-it notes since they are never actually in the flat at the same time. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

I used Craving Them: Scarlett City Series Book 1 by SJ Meares for this prompt but it would also work for a book published spring 2023, a forbidden romance, or a book that was self-published.

I finally read the first book by Khalil Gibran. I've been meaning to, and it fit for a IRL challenge.
The Madman: His Parables and Poems is a slightly darker dive, but you can tell Gibran was a visionary poet and writer at a very young age.

I am reading The House in the Pines for this prompt!

Song of the Sun God by Sri Lankan Australian Shankari Chandran is a brilliant epic historical fiction tracing the story of a family through the ravages of war in Sri Lanka and the difficult choices and sacrifices they must make. ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� here is my review

I read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman for this. I know he's already published further novels in the series, but I really wanted to read the whole series and this allowed me to fit them all in. I'm trying to go easy on myself this year, as a lot's happening. Great book! Highly recommended for all cozy mystery fans.

And This Is How to Stay Alive

I just finished
Unemployable: How I Hired Myself
by Alysia Silberg
It fulfills: 4 First Time author, 12, published in Spring 2023 (just released last week), and Advanced: A Book that was Self-Published

She's a pretty amazing woman, and I'd recommend her book.
I attached my review. :)


This is an incredible story of transformation through self-empowerment.
Alysia Silberg grew up in a dangerous suburb of Johannesburg where homes are surrounded by high walls topped with barbed and electrified wire because the threat of violence is real and constant.

Along her path she has invested in real estate, become a licensed truck driver in order to expedite production needs on construction sites, and run PR for multinational companies.
Among many other achievements, Silberg was made an Honorary Ambassador by the South African Government, voted one of the Top 100 Women in Executives by Yahoo! Finance and awarded UK's "Inspiring Tech Leader of the Year"
Today she is a venture capitalist, growing companies and helping them achieve their goals of going public.

She is an inspiration "to have the courage, confidence, and patience to believe in yourself."